That's because Costco has an awfully consumer hostile policy of accusing every customer of theft as they exit the warehouse. I absolutely can't stand being accused of crime in this manner.
Is their policy of letting you return anything anytime without a receipt also consumer hostile?
No, but that's not the policy he said is consumer hostile.
Curious what happens if someone just bypasses the person doing the double-checking. Is there any legal recourse for the store? I could only see this as the case if there is something in the member agreement, the stuff is paid for...
Nope. If there's a queue waiting to have their items checked I just walk past them. If they can't do it quickly enough it's their problem.
Last time I tried this, I got yelled at as I walked away, and a manager followed me all the way to my car yelling at me, and snatched the receipt out of my hand as I was unloading the cart into my trunk. Truly the height of rudeness.
Is having an RFID detection system at the door of a library that beeps if you forget to check out a book also consumer hostile?
Like that damn policeman on the corner with a radar gun, implicitly accusing every driver of speeding as they drive by.
That has always annoyed me as well, though in fairness the two times they caught a discrepancy at the exit it was in my favor (forgot an item at the checkout in one case, double charged in the other).
They even accuse you of theft when it ENTER the place. They're so militant about it. I'm almost scared to go into one if I ever go to America for fear of them gunning me down with a rifle if I go within twenty meters of the entrance without a card. The hostility towards everyone really puts me off, and I haven't been able to bring myself to get a membership yet.
It varies by location. They rarely check at my local Costco. But they do check your cart on the way out.
Checking membership at the entrance makes sense so that non-members don't waste their time shopping.